SnapDragon 850: the first SoC from Qualcomm to integrate a 5G modem?

SnapDragon 850 – First builtin 5G Model SoC:

The SnapDragon 845 SoC will be able to surf in 4G at more than 1.2 Gbps in theoretical maximum speed but the SoC SnapDragon 850 could be the first to offer a 5G modem directly.

The MWC 2018 Barcelona trade show will open in a few weeks and will be the place for the announcement of several high-end smartphones with the particularity of shipping the new SoC Snapdragon 845.

It incorporates a 4G Gigabit X20 LTE modem providing a theoretical maximum downstream rate of 1.2 Gbps, preparing the arrival of 5G in 2019 for the hottest and in 2020 for most telecom operators in the world.

And precisely for the 5G, the group Qualcomm could announce this year a SoC SnapDragon 850 PC Mag site speculates that it could ship a 5G X50 modem.

The correlation put forward between the “50” of the 850 and the X50 of the name of the 5G modem family is quite dubious but it remains that Qualcomm has unveiled last October in Hong Kong a first X50 5G modem integrable into a smartphone.

The firm also took the opportunity to present a reference design smartphone 5G that can be used as a basis for the first pre-commercial experiments this year and the early launches of 2019.

It is also possible that the SnapDragon 850 is an evolution of the Snapdragon 845 SoC but adapted to the needs of 2 in 1 computers running the Windows 10 on ARM platform.

Again, Qualcomm announced the finalization of the combination of Windows 10 ARM / SnapDragon 835 at the end of 2017, with the first devices expected in the spring of 2018, and an evolution of the SnapDragon 845 SoC adapted for this purpose could eventually take this name, before a SoC SnapDragon 855 for smartphones in 2019.

Given the timing, it is quite possible that this SnapDragon 855 has a 5G modem. The assumption that the SnapDragon 85x family will bring 5G connectivity remains well-founded.